the latest breaking weather news and major developments from egypt. tomorrow, a special edition, my live sitdown with barbara walters. she's interviewed everybody who is anybody and tomorrow i am interviewing her. now here is anderson cooper with "ac 360." anderson? piers, thank you very much. good evening, everyone. we are live in cairo yet again tonight. and what a day and night it has been. a day of peaceful protests here in the city of cairo and a dramatic night of developments also in cairo. president hosni mubarak making a speech, announcing after some 300 deaths in the last eight days, after untold numbers of people have been arrested, hosni mubarak announcing tonight that he is not stepping down, that he will not run for re-election in september as some had believed he had planned, though he is 82 years old.

we'll show you the reaction to his speech in the square. we're also going to show you president obama's comments after a conversation with hosni mubarak. we want to show you some new video we just got in of an apparent attack in alexandria, a fight between pro mubarak supporters and anti-mubarak demonstrators who had been in the square. the anti-mubarak demonstrators who are part of this million man march they called it throughout alexandria and in cairo, they said they were actually attacked by pro mubarak demonstrators and then called in the military. here's the video we just got. the immediate reaction to mubarak down in the square. >> translator: may god protect

the homeland and peace be upon you and blessings. >> people outraged. some took off their shoes and waved the soles of the picture on the big screen tv. after the speech, president obama spoke for about half hour with president mubarak. shortly after that, he praised the military's restraint, the protestor's aspirations and conduct and urged president mubarak not to try to hang on to power until september. >> what is clear and what i indicated tonight to president mubarak is my belief that an orderly transition must be meaningful, it must be peaceful, and it must begin now. further more, the process must include a broad spectrum of egyptian voices and opposition parties. it should lead to elections that are free and fair. and it should result in a government that's not only grounded in democratic principles, but is also responsive to the aspirations of the egyptian people.

>> all of this coming at the end of a day that began here in cairo and alexandria with a massive peaceful protest out on the street. does it make you proud today to see this and be an egyptian? >> of course, of course. you know, i have a lot of my colleagues, they left cairo, two, three days ago. but i decide to stay, to be a witness for this new rise or sunrise in the egyptian life. this is something we are proud. >> we're going to take you to the front lines of the protests we saw today here in cairo. that report is coming up shortly. but i want to show you some of my exclusive interview with the nobel laureate dr. muhammad elbaradei and his reaction to president mubarak's speech tonight. what is your reaction to president mubarak's address tonight? >> well, anderson, this is clearly an act of deception.

it's a person who doesn't want to let go. a dictator who doesn't want to listen to the clear voice of the people. anderson, you are in cairo, you have seen what the city looks like and what the people want. and he is unfortunately going to extend the agony here for another six, seven months. he's going to continue to polarize the country. he's continuing to get people even more angry and could result to violence. whoever gives him that advice gave him absolutely the wrong advice. he just has to let go. and not only is going to be at best a lame duck president, he's going to be a dead man walking. i don't really understand what is behind that other than a further six, seven months of instability, rather than prepare the ground for a new egypt. >> when you say he's going to be a dead man walking, what do you mean? >> what i mean, that he lost his

legitimacy. how could he face the people, anderson? you saw today people say he does not represent him, they do not consider him as a legitimate president. he lost all confidence by all people. nobody trusts him any longer, and all what i heard from the street today that not a single person is buying this. whoever gave him that advice gave him the absolute wrong advice. it's bad for you, it's bad for egypt. >> there are reports that that advice came from the united states, from the envoy that president obama sent. >> yeah, i don't really know that. but if that were to be true, then he got the absolutely wrong advice. as i said, this would be bad for egypt, bad for the u.s., bad for

everybody. he lost legitimacy in egypt and everywhere around the word. >> do you want to see the protests continue tomorrow? >> well, it is not me that wants to see the protests. i was told immediately a minute after he spoke by everybody in the square that they are going to continue the protests. if brotherhood said the same. everybody i talked to said the protestors will continue and will be even more aggressive. so how is that going to help anybody? >> have you had any communication with the obama administration or with the envoy who represented them, who came here? >> well, i had a long conversation this morning with the ambassador here, but i haven't seen the special envoy. >> and if the president does stay in power until september, would you consider running for president? >> well, anderson, i will not

run unless there is a free and fair election and for egypt, we need a complete overhaul of the system. i don't think that is going to happen under mr. mubarak's reign. >> dr. mohammed elbaradei, i appreciate your time. i'm joined now by ben wedeman and professor ajammi and john king. ben, in terms of a reaction to mubarak's address tonight, obviously the protestors in the square were outraged. it's not what they warrant to hear. they say they're going to continue to protest. but they are only a small percentage of the people of egypt. how do you think this speech is going to play in the rest of the country? >> for many egyptians, it's going to be defusing the chris toys a certain extent. many people are worried, not necessarily about the fate of mubarak, although this sentiment does seem to be in favor of him leaving at some point. what people need is to get back to work, to get money out of

their banks, to get kids back to school, to get the railroads moving again, because the economy is at a stand still. people just don't know how to handle this thing as long as the country is in this state of paralysis. so some sort of defusing of the crisis is welcomed by many egyptians. >> professor, when you heard mubarak make this announcement that he would not seek re-election at the age of 82 but he was not stepping down, what did you think? >> look, anderson, we talked about it a couple of days ago when you were here before you headed out to the field, and i think what's interesting about mubarak, everything he's offering, had he offered it before, it would have worked. everything has come a little too late. in a way, if he wants to pose as a man who would help ease egypt into a new transition, the problem is the people of this country don't trust him. they don't think he will be an honest broker and run and prepare for an honest election.

because i think they're right, he would not know an honest election, even if he ran into it. so there is something of this broken trust between him and his population. >> do you agree with that? >> yes. in fact, this country has a long history of rigged elections and the feeling is that they -- the tiger can't change his spots. that the country -- i mean, behind us, we have basically a rent-a-mob of pro mubarak supporters who have been mobilized at this late hour to chant, you know, that they are traitors and agents. >> do you think these guys are paid to do this? >> i don't think there's any doubt about it. i've seen demonstrations like this in egypt for years. there are people who have such a stake in this regime that they're coming out like this, they're being paid perhaps to come out like this to show support for the mubarak regime. this is typical for instance of

egyptian elections. often times they come out in favor of mubarak and it turns out they've been paid 20 pounds apiece to do it. >> all right. john king, what do you know about the behind the scenes work at the white house regarding this speech, regarding the president's conversation with hosni mubarak? >> anderson, it's a very difficult time for the president, because you're right there? the middle of it. revolutions are very emotional and visceral. for all the disappointment in president mubarak's speech first tonight, there was some important nuance there. he did say he was willing to speed up the election process. that's not enough for the obama white house and the president of the united states made that clear. both in his public statements he said the transition must be peaceful and begin now. they want president mubarak to speed up his timetable.

i'm told he was very blunt in saying you can't go for months. you need to quickly move to a transitional situation and that most likely in the white house calculation, they don't leave president mubarak has this part yet, but in the white house calculation, this is a matter of weeks that he must step aside, yield to the new vice president, and bring some people in. but your conversation with mr. elbaradei is telling, they need somebody who can negotiation for the demonstrators and they don't know who that is before. >> a lot of that has to do with mubarak himself over the last 30 years he basically eliminated any opposition or any institution that might have grown into an opposition. >> behind you is the handy work of the man himself, mubarak. this is the egypt he's created. this is the mob he's created. this is the anger he created on

one side that took people into the streets and then the hired thugs, the people who sent prisons to sow trouble among the crowd. this is the handy work of hosni mubarak. the work thing that mubarak could do for his country at this time is accept the verdict of what has happened. it's time to move on and time to prepare this country, to try to heal this country. i don't think he knows how. i think he's a stubborn man. i think he is still pleading for time, hoping the crowds will disburse and hoping he will be spared. and yet another day. >> what will -- if he remains, what will this transition look like over the next eight months? >> i think it's very messy. there are so many people that have a stake in the regime that's been in place for 29 years. there are business interests, there are ordinary employees of the security services, the plain

cotes policemen, the secret police, the intelligence. there's so many elements that have so much to lose, and they could be fighting tooth and nail to try to keep this regime in power. >> i heard you say the other night that the superior ministry here, they have as many as 1.3 million employees. is that true? >> even more, about 1.7 million by some estimates. these are people that would simply blow with the wind. they are just people who want to make a living. there have been implicated in the terror of the mubarak regime. that's what all dictators to, they implicate people in their big crimes. there are people at the top, and there are the poor people trapped in the system. they work for the minister of the interior. they have no other way of livelihood. and it's not out of love for mubarak that they do it. this is the life being offered

to them. >> if viewers at home are wondering how we're so sure this is a rent-a-mob, essentially there was a government sponsored party here and it's 5:00 a.m. here. it's not natural that a mob would all of a sudden appear by our broadcast. >> this is out of the ordinary. this is what was on. this was this rent-a-mob that was on state tv constantly. so there is an intense desire to create the impression that there are -- there's a large number of egyptians who are still in favor of the regime. but it's not really a large number. >> they didn't know who we are, or what television station we are. >> they are talking about al jazeera. >> there you go. appreciate you being on tonight. we'll have more with ben after this break. we'll take you to the front line

and show you what we saw today. the demonstrations, the massive demonstrations, biggest demonstrations we have seen thus as far, much bigger than the small mob behind me right now. we'll take you to the front lines. and we'll check in with isha sesay who is following the latest of this bad weather storm that hit the midwest and heading east. what's the update? >> the storm is pummeling the u.s. right now, from new mexico to maine. snow, ice, and bitter cold causing misery and up to 100 million people stand to be affected. coming up, the latest details on what the national weather service is calling a life-threatening storm. starts with back pain...the and a choice. take advil now... and maybe up to 4 in a day. or, choose aleve and 2 pills for a day free of pain. smart move. ♪ different jobs...

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discover more of what we do, for every generation at aarp.org. i'm proud i'm egyptian now. only now i'm very proud. >> you weren't proud before? >> no. >> and now you're proud? >> yes. >> one of the demonstrators we heard from earlier today. just to give you a sense of what is going on, you may be seeing green flashing in the lens. this pro mubarak mob that has appeared underneath our live shot location, they threw a rock

and now they're pointing a laser at this camera to block the shot. they frankly don't know we're cnn or know anything about us. but they're basically this sort of mob that has shown up, about 200 people. at some point, we may retreat from this location, but we're going to keep broadcasting for now. i want to show you what we saw earlier today. the massive outpouring. it was both here in cairo and in alexandria. we'll talk to nic robertson about what happened there. the scene in cairo was nothing we have not seen in the last eight days of these protests. let's go to the front lines of what we saw at liberation square. at times today, it may have seemed like a party, but protestors wanted to make sure that their message to mubarak was heard loud and clear. >> translator: we have one

thing. if he obey and he leaves, he could. but every day he remain in the power. this is make things too difficult for him. >> do you think today will make a difference? >> i hope so. >> the eighth day of protests, and they hoped it would be the biggest yet. protestors say it's critical to keep the momentum going. that's why they've staged a massive demonstration today, trying to get as many people into the streets as possible. they want to continue to send a message to the mubarak regime and also to the world that they are not lagging, that nar spirits are strong and they're not going to settle for anything less than mubarak stepping down. all day long, people kept on coming from a nearby building. you could see just how packed the square was. tanks and armored personnel carriers sat on the periphery, but the people welcomed the soldiers giving them flowers and

food. without police present, the protestors policed themselves. considering their anger, it was remarkably peaceful. volunteers kept order and even collected trash. does it make you proud to see this and to be an egyptian? >> of course, of course. i have a lot of my colleagues that left cairo two, three days ago. but i decided to stay, be a witness for this new rise or sunrise in the egyptian life. this is something we are proud. we decide to come together here. >> up to 300 people have been killed so far in this crisis, according to the u.n. and today in the crowds, some held pictures of those whose lives have been lost. many here expect the u.s. to do more to force mubarak to finally step down. >> we have drastic and major reform programs that we need to do, because we don't have education, our economical system is is way beyond your imagination. we are living below the poverty

line. so if you stop supporting the mubarak regime, maybe we can elect a good president and help us to reform. >> even after curfew began, the protests continued well into the night. it was the biggest turnout so far, but some feared it would not be enough. do you think it's going to be a turning point? >> i'm not that optimistic about it. we need more people on the ground here. >> you feel like there's not enough people yet? >> not enough people. we need more people to come down. they managed t build fear inside our hearts and most people i know are staying at home because they're freaking out. >> despite president mubarak's announcement he would not seek re-election, the protests tomorrow will continue. they've gone this far. many feel the end is in sight. i want to talk about the potential for violence, frankly in the next couple of days between these anti-mubarak protestors and pro mubarak mobs.

you saw some tension in liberation square tonight. >> yeah, we left the square around 3:00 a.m. local time and there were about 200, 300 pro mubarak people lined up trying to get in. and then there were the anti-mubarak people on the other side and you could feel the tension there. it would have been like fans of rival soccer teams about to mix it up. >> the mob that was here seems to have been disbursed. is this a concern for the next couple of days? >> it certainly is. the first few days of protest, which took the regime by surprise, i think what we're beginning to see is a bit of pushback by the regime against the pro-tetestoprotestors. they realize that the end is near for the mubarak regime, that if september comes and he's out. therefore, they realize that their cash cow for years, even

though it was a small amount of cash in many cases, is about to go. >> what about to mohammed elbaradei's point, that this is a trick, just a way for mubarak to keep his power and it's not going to lead to a transition to democracy. what guaranty is there that this would lead to a democracy if he stays in power? >> a, the protests. let's not forget that the people in the square were middle class, educated. they are not working class people for the most part. the other is the united states. the united states is really invested in this country strategically, historically, and they cannot afford to see what looks like a promising process go by the wayside. so there are reasons to believe it may actually work. >> and nic robertson, you're in alexandria to the north of where we are in cairo. there was violence between pro

mubarak forces and anti-mubarak protestors. what happened? >> reporter: well, it was the tail end, if you will, of the huge march in alexandria today. they settled in the square, as they have been every night here. as they were sort of sitting there, chanting to get rid of president mubarak, they say a group of pro mubarak supporters came along, brandishing big sticks and knives. they say that they called on the army to come and defuse the situation. the army come in and told the pro mubarak supporters, they said to get behind the armored vehicles and told the protestors just stay where you are. the anti-mubarak protestors to stay where you are. then according to eyewitnesss, a clash started and 12 of the anti-mubarak demonstrators, who had been there in martyr's square through the evening, were beaten, one injured quite

seriously. but it does appear to be an indication of those tensions that as ben was saying, perhaps a reemergence of those with a velsed interest. and it took the army firing their guns in the air to kind of disburse or sort of force the two sides apart, anderson. >> ben, it's now wednesday morning here, day nine. what are you going to be looking for in the next 24 hours? >> some sort of form of resumption of ordinary life. by early next week -- >> because things are shut down here. >> government employees not getting paid, nobody is going to school, stores aren't working. so that's one thing. another is friday. friday is a day theoretically, the weekend, when nobody is working any way, but normally a day when large demonstrations happen. we can expect continuation of the anti-mubarak demonstrations, but i can see these guys on the street may be out as well, and

there may be more clashes. >> what are the big questions in the 24 hours ahead? >> that we get back to normal at all. the prime minister appeared on tv today in an interview and said yes, he thought the internet would be back up soon. the finance minister said some kind of compensation would be given to people who have been made unemployed throughout this crisis. can steps be made to ease the economic burden from the part of the government? people saying they've run out of cash, running out of crucial supplies. will shops reopen again? >> will anyone be held responsible for the 300 deaths that have occurred in the last eight days here and what about all the people arrested? >> president mubarak in his speech did talk about investigations into some of the excesses that occurred over the last few days of the violence and looting and we shall see, as he's saying this, we shall see

if it comes to fruition. >> nic, what were the demonstrations like today in alexandria? we saw the violence that occurred at the end, but what kind of a crowd turnout was there? >> it was by far the biggest turnout we've seen so far. one of the interesting things for me was the location chosen for all these different marches to congregate and they chose to congregate initially outside the main army headquarters, then changed their minds and had it a couple hundred yards away. there seemed to be an effort there, while the army had taken some of the heavy weapons off the armored vehicles, soldiers had been given orders not to shoot at protestors. protestors were linking their arms to make sure no mistakes happened. but there seemed to be something of an effort there, and a subtle

or perhaps less than subtle message that we're here, we're not far away. you're the sort of state institution that's -- i think there was something of that in it. but also interesting today to hear from people concerned about the transition, saying perhaps mubarak should have another week and perhaps the vice president would be okay, if only we get elections in two months or three months, that would be okay. you could really hear the chants of concern about the transition of power and how safe it might be. and just one more quick thought. we went into an apartment building to get some high shots of the scene there. i have to say there were a lot of very, very frightened elderly people in that building, elderly women and elderly men and you could get a sense of what they're going for, seeing armed thugs on the streets, this is

not what they're used to. they're really concerned, anderson. >> ben, it does still seem like there is a big chasm between what the white house expects in terms of mubarak staying in power and what mubarak expects. the indication of the speech seemed to be that he was going to stay in until september. the white house is thinking of a much shorter time frame. >> certainly i listened to his speech and it doesn't sound like he's going to step down any sooner than he really has to, according to the constitution. and it was an interesting speech, because it started off very defiant, pointing fingers at the demonstrators. at the end of the speech, sort of saying i have served this country for very long as a soldier and as a president. and you got the feeling that there's a bit of wounded pride there. >> ben wedeman, appreciate it. when we come back, we'll look at americans trying to leave egypt. we're still seeing large numbers

of americans leaving. and one american who doesn't feel the need to leave. he'll explain why he feels it's okay to stay here for now. and the latest on the huge winter storm hitting the united states. all that and more ahead.

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and welcome back. we're live from cairo, in case you've been following our coverage. a large mob of thugs seems to have moved down the block, so it's relatively calm here. i'm hoping they don't decide to come back. when we come back, we're going to have a lot about americans trying to evacuate from cairo and we'll talk to one young american here teaching english who decided he's going to stay. but first, let's check in with isha sesay for an update for a "360" news and business bulletin. the 2012 democratic national convention will be in charlotte, north carolina. democrats chose charlotte over cleveland, minneapolis and st. louis. it is scheduled for the first week in september. the navy captain fired for making videos aboard a aircraft carrier said the higher-ups knew about what he was doing. captain ohhen honors said his bosses never told him to stop making the movies, which

included partial nudity and homophobic jokes. he said they were good for morale on board. and the dow and s&p closed at their highest levels in two years. the dow closed at 12,040, the highest since june of 2008. and the other big story is the massive storm that is expected to affect as many as 100 million people here in the united states. we have our meteorologist in chicago braving what could be one of the worst storms in that city's history. he joins us live. rob, it looks miserable. just how bad is it? >> reporter: well, this is the worst we've seen it so far. just in the last hour, we've seen the winds, which have been sustained at 40 miles an hour, gusting over 50. we had numerous lightning strikes. that's right, lightning strikes in a snowstorm. thunder snow.

gives you an idea how much lift there is in this storm, and just how powerful it is. not to mention what it did all day long across oklahoma, missouri, dropping 20 inches of snow down there. and in some cases stranding people on highways. portions of i-70 shut down. here in chicago, there's been reports of damage at wrigley field because of the damaging winds that are occurring right now and scouring the snow here. we've had 9, 10 inches of snow, but it's not piling up because the winds are whipping it around. we'll see several feet of snow drifts later tomorrow. the snow is expected to continue through tomorrow. a blizzard warning up until then. forget how historic this is goinging to. this may be the worst ever. but at least through tonight, and emergency vehicles going up and down throughout downtown, chicagoans, they just want to survive this storm. isha? >> yeah, and rob, what is the sense among ordinary chicagoans?

has the city shut down? are those just emergency vehicles, are people heeding the warnings and staying inside? >> buses are still trying to run. a few people have tried to get their vehicles out here. but the city itself tomorrow will be shut down. i believe there's another -- more thunder and lightning happening right now. obviously the teeth of this storm right now is dropping the hammer on chicago. no doubt about it. >> clearly some technical problems there with rob, as you can understand with those terrible weather conditions. let's bring in meteorologist chad myers joining us from atlanta. chad, you saw the conditions there in chicago. still hitting the midwest right now. how will it affect the east coast tomorrow? >> you know what? the east coast tomorrow, new york city gets an ice storm. not enough to knock off the trees down, but enough ice to make a brutal commute tomorrow

morning. it's one of those days you want to take the train and not drive. jefferson city, missouri, 18 inches of snowfall. brutal in chicago. we lost rob there because there's a big satellite dish on top of a moving van. they parked the van and hope that the dish stays still. in a hurricane it doesn't stay still. and they're trying to point to a satellite 22,000 miles in space. it really is the teeth of the storm now for chicago o'hare. a brutal night in indianapolis. same story for columbus, ohio and pittsburgh on up toward erie. this is an ice storm event. tens of thousands of homes are without power in indiana. temperatures going down 20, 30 degrees after the cold air comes in from the northwest. trying to stay warm with that. i guess it's one of those nights where you're going to have to bundle up and stay in and try

not to do something silly with gas or with a generator in your garage, because we all know about these dangerous, dangerous carbon monoxide fumes that you don't even hear or smell coming. >> chad, appreciate the update. anderson, let me toss it back to you. terrible conditions here in the united states. >> yeah, just incredible, the pictures are unbelievable. isha, we'll check back in with you later. coming up, americans evacuating from egypt. the evacuations continue. we'll talk to one american who says he's staying and he'll explain why, ahead. ♪ when the parts for the line ♪ ♪ come precisely on time ♪ that's logistics ♪ ♪ a continuous link, that is always in sync ♪ ♪ that's logistics ♪ ♪ there will be no more stress ♪ ♪ cause you've called ups, that's logistics ♪

well, welcome back. we are live in cairo. our continuing coverage, we are now starting day nine of these protests. even though president mubarak has made the announcement that he's planning to stay in power, it's likely the protests will continue today, tomorrow, the protestors say it will continue until president mubarak leaves office that day. we want to talk about some of the americans who have been evacuating from egypt, on all points around egypt. it's believed there are about 52,000 americans living in egypt, though it's not known how many are in country right now. the state department has been offering evacuations, offering flights to places in europe for people who want to get out. a voluntary evacuations. about a thousand people on monday took them up on that.

about 500 or so on tuesday were evacuated. why did the number drop on tuesday? >> they said of these street demonstrations that you've been involved in, have been having an effect, at least in cairo. so the state department is saying the numbers did slow. the latest ones, they got 460 people out on four government charters, and that was today. and the destinations were istanbul and athens. they will continue that tomorrow, because there are probably about 3,000 people who do or have expressed an interest in getting out, anderson. >> and the airport in cairo is still open, and there are commercial flights, though a number of carriers have cut down on flights. i'm hearing the nightmare stories of people waiting 48 hours for a flight that ends up never showing up and there's not a lot of information being given out. how concerned is the state

department about security for americans here in country? >> you know, so far the demonstrations haven't really targeted americans. so the state department isn't really saying that that is specifically a problem. it's more just sometimes getting to the airport if you had to go through a demonstration. they're urging people on the website, and that is one place people should check for the latest information. they're urging them during demonstrations to stay indoors, to stay in their hotels. >> obviously people here can't really check any websites because there's still no internet service, but i guess the state department is recommending their contact their families in the states and have the families check websites, is that right, jill? >> exactly. they're saying use anything that you can, e-mail, websites, or if you have relatives outside of egypt, if they can contact you in some way, and get that information. but the central clearinghouse for information is the website for the state department. state.gov.

>> jill, appreciate the reporting. i'm joined now by an american, a young american. you're here teaching english? >> yes. >> is this a good time to be in cairo or a bad time? >> i find it to be a really -- at tils, terrifying, at times unsettling. but it's been an interesting time to be here. i found what's going on here to be incredibly inspiring. >> you don't feel the need to leave. a number of your friends have left. why did they leave? >> i think after the weekend friday, we were all out at the protests. got a little taste of tear gas. friday night, we were holed up in an apartment downtown and couldn't make it back up to where we live, north of downtown. there was a lot of violence. we were next to a police strong hold that got overrun throughout the night a couple times. and then kind of throughout the weekend, looters were around.

it was very unsettling. >> i hope your family is not watching this right now. >> yeah, after friday night i went back up to kind of a suburb about 12 kilometers north of downtown. and there i got to know -- i already knew the neighborhood a little bit, but i've been hanging out with the neighborhood kids, the guys out defending the neighborhood, got to know some of the soldiers stationed there. i don't speak arabic well enough to get to know them, but i feel safe. there's still a gunshot here or there, but i haven't seen anything -- i haven't ever felt personally threatened. >> so people on your block have taken matters into their own hands? they've armed themselves and every night they're out there patrolling the neighborhood. >> it was unsettling at first, seeing people out. because in crowds, makeshift

barricades -- >> they're carrying knives and sticks. >> everything from broken bats to defend themselves. >> and they know who you are? >> exactly. and i've gotten used to it. they're not -- they're good neighborhood people. >> we talked to two young americans who were trying to evacuate last night who said they felt there were incidents where they felt anti-american sentiment. do you feel that? >> there have been a couple of times in the middle of the protest where there's been a chant or i said something about being an american and someone had a negative reaction. but most of that i feel like is not directed directly at me. egyptians want to know why america isn't supporting them. they feel like -- i think they feel like their revolution is in line with the ideas that they associate with america, like freedom and democracy.

and they don't understand why the american government isn't behind them. it comes from america supported israel and mubarak as a person more than aggression toward me as an individual. >> i wish you luck and stay safe and keep enjoying your time here in egypt. >> thank you. >> reid, thank you very much. one of the americans who decided to stay here. when we come back, some of the most dramatic developments from the last 24 hours. what a day and night it has been here. ♪ [ male announcer ] an everyday moment can turn romantic anytime. and when it does, men with erectile dysfunction can be more confident in their ability to be ready with cialis for daily use. ♪ cialis for daily use is a clinically proven low-dose tablet you take every day so you can be ready anytime the moment's right. ♪ tell your doctor about your medical condition and all medications, and ask if you're healthy enough for sexual activity. don't take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain,

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it has been an extraordinary 24-hour period here. we've been up for most of the last 24 hours. i want to show you some of the most dramatic developments we

saw today and tonight in cairo and alexandria. usually this square would not be this crowded at this time of the morning. it's usually after afternoon prayers that people come out to protest. >> keep order. the main idea now is the order. we are the egyptian people. we're not involved with any party. >> no one goes through here and no one brings any weapons. >> there's no question that after days and nights of protests here, this is the biggest gathering we have seen yet. >> go, go, that seems to be the

one single message here. >> today's protest seems to be more family oriented. you see more women. >> you want a democracy? >> this is what i want. >> for your kids. >> maybe he doesn't understand the language of his people, so i'm telling him in english, please go away. >> as the president was speaking, there was an efrgs erie silence and then that statement about the fact that he would be staying in office but would not seek re-election. people broke out into screams and shouts of outrage. they removed their shoes and began waving them in the air. that the ultimate insult in the arab world, shouting that he was a liar, that they did not trust him.

>> it remains to be seen whether a statement by president mubarak tonight does satisfy some people in egypt. there are large numbers of people here who are not protesting, large numbers of people who we haven't heard from, some who may still support president mubarak. so it remains to be seen whether this will weaken the momentum that the protests have been building over the last eight days. >> each day has been more dramatic than the last. it is now almost 6:00 a.m. here, day nine of this crisis, and the crisis continues. lots of new developments in the last 24 hours. we'll continue to follow all the new developments and bring them live tomorrow night on "360." thanks for watching. our coverage continues.

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we are live in cairo. a massive demonstration, a peaceful protests here in coy row against the mubarak regime. and even more dramatic developments late tonight, tuesday night here. we saw president mubarak coming forward, saying he is not in fact stepping down, but saying he will not run for re-election. although at age 82, there were questions whether he would run for re-election any way come

september. but he says for now he is not stepping down. that message was followed by a speech by president obama. we'll show you parts of that and show you reaction in the square to the speech and an exclusive interview with mohammed elbaradei and we'll show you his reaction to president mubarak's speech. he did not mince words. first, the immediate reaction to mubarak down in cairo's liberation square. >> may god protect this people and peace be upon you and blessings. >> people outraged. some took off their shoes and waved the soles of the picture on the big screen tv. after the speech, president obama spoke for about half hour with president mubarak. shortly after that, he praised the military's restraint, the protestor's aspirations and conduct and urged president

mubarak not to try to hang onto power until september. >> what is clear and what i indicated tonight to president mubarak is my belief that an orderly transition must be meaningful, it must be peaceful, and it must begin now. further more, the process must include a broad spectrum of egyptian voices and opposition parties. it should lead to elections that are free and fair. and it should result in a government that's not only grounded in democratic principles, but is also responsive to the aspirations of the egyptian people. >> all of this coming at the end of a day that began here in cairo and alexandria with a massive peaceful protest out on the street. does it make you proud today to see this and be an egyptian? >> of course, of course. you know, i have a lot of my colleagues, they left cairo, two, three days ago. but i decide to stay, to be a

witness for this new rise or sunrise in the egyptian life. this is something we are proud. >> we're going to take you to the front lines of the protests we saw today here in cairo. we'll have that report coming up shortly. but i want to show you some of my exclusive interview with the nobel laureate dr. mohammed elbaradei and his reaction to president mubarak's speech tonight. dr. elbaradei, what is your reaction to president mubarak's address tonight? >> well, anderson, this is clearly an act of deception. it's a person who doesn't want to let go. a dictator who doesn't want to listen to the clear voice of the people. anderson, you are in cairo, you have seen what the city looks like and what the people want. and to continue to try to -- he is unfortunately going to extend the agony here for

another six, seven months. he's going to continue to polarize the country. he's continuing to get people even more angry and could result in violence. whoever gives him that advice gave him absolutely the wrong advice. he just has to let go. and not only is going to be at best a lame duck president, he's going to be a dead man walking. i don't really understand what is behind that other than a further six, seven months of instability, rather than prepare the ground for a new egypt. >> when you say he's going to be a dead man walking, what do you mean? >> what i mean, that he lost his legitimacy. how could he face the people, anderson? you saw today people say he does not represent him, they do not consider him as a legitimate president. he lost all confidence by all people. nobody trusts him any longer, and all what i heard from the

street today that not a single person is buying this. i'm very, very disappointed. whoever gave him that advice gave him the absolute wrong advice. it's bad for you, it's bad for egypt. >> there are reports that that advice came from the united states, from the envoy that president obama sent. >> yeah, i don't really know that. but if that were to be true, then he got the absolutely wrong advice. as i said, this would be bad for egypt, bad for the u.s., bad for everybody. he lost legitimacy in egypt and everywhere around the world. >> do you want to see the protests continue tomorrow? >> well, it is not me that wants to see the protests. i was told immediately a minute after he spoke by everybody in the square that they are going to continue the protests. the brotherhood said the same.

everybody i talked to said the protests will continue and the protests will be even more aggressive. so how is that going to help anybody? >> have you had any communication with the obama administration or with the envoy who represented them, who came here? >> well, i had a long conversation this morning with the ambassador here, but i haven't seen the special envoy. >> and if the president does stay in power until september, and there are elections then, would you consider running for president? >> well, anderson, i will not run unless there is a free and fair election and for egypt, we need a complete overhaul of the system. i don't think that is going to happen under mr. mubarak's reign. >> dr. mohammed elbaradei, i appreciate your time. thank you, sir. >> thank you, anderson. thank you very much. i'm joined now by cnn's ben

wedeman and professor ajami and john king. ben, in terms of a reaction to mubarak's address tonight, obviously the protestors in the square were outraged. it's not what they want to hear. they say they're going to continue to protest. but they are only a small percentage of the people of egypt. how do you think this speech is going to play in the rest of the country? >> for many egyptians, it's going to be defusing the chris toys a certain extent. many people are worried, not necessarily about the fate of mubarak, although this sentiment does seem to be in favor of him leaving at some point. what people need is to get back to work, to get money out of the banks, to get their kids back to school, to get the railroads moving again, to get life moving again, because the economy is at a stand still. people just don't know how to handle this thing as long as the country is in this state of paralysis. so some sort of defusing of the crisis is welcomed by many egyptians. >> professor, when you heard mubarak make this announcement

that he would not seek re-election at the age of 82 but he was not stepping down, what did you think? >> look, anderson, we talked about it a couple of days ago when you were here before you headed out to the field, and i think what's interesting about mubarak, everything he's offering, had he offered it before, it would have worked. everything has come a little too late. in a way, if he wants to pose as a man who would help ease egypt into a new transition, the problem is the people of this country don't trust him. they don't think he will be an honest broker. they don't believe he will run and prepare for an honest election. because i think they're right, he would not know an honest election, even if he ran into it. so there is something of this broken trust between him and his population. >> do you agree with that? >> yes. in fact, this country has a long history of rigged elections and the feeling is that they -- the tiger can't change his spots.

that the country -- i mean, behind us, we have basically a rent-a-mob of pro mubarak supporters who have been mobilized at this late hour to chant, you know, that they are traitors and agents. >> do you think these guys are paid to do this? >> i don't think there's any doubt about it. i've seen demonstrations like this in egypt for years. there are people who have such a stake in this regime that they're coming out like this, they're being paid perhaps to come out like this to show support for the mubarak regime. this is typical for instance of egyptian elections. oftentimes they come out in favor of mubarak and it turns out they've been paid 20 pounds apiece to do it. >> how quickly do they start throwing things at us, by the way? >> i don't want to think about that. >> all right. john king, what do you know about the behind the scenes work at the white house regarding this speech, regarding the president's conversation with hosni mubarak?

>> anderson, it's a very difficult time for the president, because you're right there in the middle of it. revolutions are very emotional and visceral. they don't lend themselves to nuance. for all the disappointment in president mubarak's speech first tonight, there was some important nuance there. he did say he was willing to speed up the election process. he said say he was willing to go forward. that's not enough for the obama white house and the president of the united states made that clear. both in his public statements he said the transition must be peaceful and begin now. they want president mubarak to speed up his timetable. privately i'm told president obama a 30-minute conversation is a very long conversation for the president of the united states to have with any leader. i'm told he was very blunt in saying you can't run this clock out, you can't go for months. you need to quickly move to a transitional situation and that most likely in the white house calculation, they don't leave president mubarak has this part yet, but in the white house calculation, this is a matter of weeks that he must step aside, yield to the new vice president,

yield to the chief of staff of the army and bring some people in. but your conversation with mr. elbaradei is telling, they need somebody who can negotiation for the demonstrators and they don't know who that is yet. >> a lot of that has to do with mubarak himself over the last 30 years he basically eliminated any opposition or any institution that might have grown into an opposition. >> behind you is the handy work of the man himself, mubarak. this is the egypt he's created. this is the mob he's created. this is the anger he created on one side that took people into the streets and then the hired thugs, the people who empty the prisons and sent people out to sow trouble among the crowds. this is the handy work of hosni mubarak. the work thing that mubarak could do for his country at this time is accept the verdict of what has happened. it's time to move on and time to

prepare this country, to try to heal this country. i don't think he knows how. i think he's a stubborn man. i think he is still pleading for time, hoping the crowds will disburse and hoping he will be spared. and yet another day. >> what will -- if he remains, what will this transition look like over the next eight months? >> i think it's very messy. there are so many people that have a stake in the regime that's been in place for 29 years. there are business interests, there are ordinary employees of the security services, the plain clothes policemen, the secret police, the intelligence. there's so many elements that have so much to lose, and they could be fighting tooth and nail to try to keep this regime in power. >> i heard you say the other night that the superior ministry here, which is essentially the secret police, the intelligence

service, they have as many as 1.3 million employees. is that true? >> even more, about 1.7 million by some estimates. these are people that would simply blow with the wind. they are just people who want to make a living. there have been implicated in the terror of the mubarak regime. that's what all dictatorships do. they implicate people in their big crimes. there are people at the top who have looted what they could and are probably gone, and there are the poor people trapped in the system. they work for the minister of the interior. they have no other way of livelihood. and it's not out of love for mubarak that they do it. this is the life being offered to them. >> if viewers at home are wondering how we're so sure this is a rent-a mob that has shown up at our station, essentially there was a government-sponsored party here and it's now ak a.m. here. it's not natural that a mob would all of a sudden appear by our broadcast. >> no, this is absolutely out of

the ordinary. i can tell you i was watching state tv before coming here. of course, this is what was on. it was this rent-a-mob that was on state tv constantly. so there is an intense desire to create the impression that there are -- there's a large number of egyptians who are still in favor of the regime. but it's not really a large number. >> they didn't know who we are, or what television station we are. >> they are talking about al jazeera. they think we're al jazeera. >> there you go. appreciate you being on tonight. we'll have more with ben after this break. we'll take you to the front line and show you what we saw today. the demonstrations, the massive demonstrations, biggest demonstrations we have seen thus far. much bigger than the small mob behind me right now. we'll take you to the front lines of that demonstration from today. and we'll check in with isha sesay who is following the latest of this bad weather storm that hit the midwest and heading east.

isha, what's the update? >> the storm is pummeling the u.s. right now, from new mexico to maine. snow, ice, and bitter cold causing misery and up to 100 million people stand to be affected. coming up, the latest details on what the national weather service is calling a life-threatening storm. [ female announcer ] most women in america aren't getting the calcium they need. only yoplait original has twice the calcium of the leading yogurt. that's 50% of the daily value to help close the calcium gap,

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shot. they frankly don't know we're cnn or know anything about us. but they're basically this sort of mob that has shown up, about 200 people. at some point, we may retreat from this location, but we're going to keep broadcasting for now. i want to show you what we saw earlier today. the massive outpouring. it was both here in cairo and in alexandria. we'll talk to nic robertson about what happened there. the scene in cairo was something we have not seen in the last eight days of these protests. and we've seen big protests before. let's go to the front lines of what we saw at liberation square. at times today, it may have seemed like a party, but protestors wanted to make sure that their message to mubarak was heard loud and clear. >> translator: we have one thing. we ask him to step down.

if he obey and he leaves, he could. but every day he remain in the power. this is make things too difficult for him. >> do you think today will make a difference? >> i hope so. i hope so. >> it was the eighth day of protests, and they hoped it would be the biggest one yet. protestors say it's critical to keep the momentum going. that's why they've staged a massive demonstration today, at this point it's a battle for numbers, trying to get as many people into the streets as possible. they want to continue to send a message to the mubarak regime and also to the world that they are not lagging, that their spirits are strong and they're not going to settle for anything less than mubarak stepping down. all day long, people kept on coming from a nearby building. you could see just how packed the square was. tanks and armored personnel carriers sat on the periphery, but the people welcomed the soldiers giving them flowers and food. without police present, the

protestors policed themselves. considering their anger, it was remarkably peaceful. volunteers kept order and even collected trash. does it make you proud to see this and to be an egyptian? >> of course, of course. i have a lot of my colleagues that left cairo two, three days ago. but i decided to stay, be a witness for this new rise or sunrise in the egyptian life. this is something we are proud. we decide to come together here. >> up to 300 people have been killed so far in this crisis, according to the u.n. and today in the crowds, some held pictures of those whose lives have been lost. many here expect the u.s. to do more to force mubarak to finally step down. >> we have drastic and major reform programs that we need to do, because we don't have education, our economical system is way beyond your imagination. we are living below the poverty line. so if you stop supporting the mubarak regime, maybe we can

elect a good president and help us to reform. >> even after curfew began, the protests continued well into the night. it was the biggest turnout so far, but some feared it would not be enough. do you think it's going to be a turning point? >> i'm not that optimistic about it. we need more people on the ground here. >> you feel like there's not enough people yet? >> not enough people. we need more people to come down. they managed to build fear inside our hearts and most people i know are staying at home because they're freaking out. >> despite president mubarak's announcement he would not seek re-election, the protests tomorrow will continue. they've gone this far. many feel the end is in sight. i want to talk about the potential for violence, frankly in the next couple of days between these anti-mubarak protestors and pro mubarak mobs. you saw some tension in liberation square tonight.

>> yeah, we left the square around 3:00 a.m. local time and there were about 200, 300 pro mubarak people lined up trying to get in. the military was acting as a buffer. and then there were the anti-mubarak people on the other side and you could feel the tension there. it would have been like fans of rival soccer teams about to mix it up. >> a few stones have been thrown, but the mob that was here seems to have been disbursed. i don't know if the military got involved. is this a concern for the next couple of days? >> it certainly is. the first few days of protest, which took the regime by surprise, i think what we're beginning to see is a bit of pushback by the regime against the protestors. they realize that the end is near for the mubarak regime, that when september comes, he's out. therefore, they realize that their cash cow for years, even

though it was a small amount of cash in many cases, is about to go. >> what about to mohammed elbaradei's point, that this is a trick, just a way for mubarak to keep his power and it's not going to lead to a transition to democracy. what guaranty is there that this would lead to a democracy if he stays in power? >> i any there are two things that might dwaurnty the process will work. a, the protests. let's not forget that the people in the square were middle class, educated. they are not working class people for the most part. the other is the united states. the united states is really invested in this country strategically, historically, and they cannot afford to see what looks like a promising process go by the wayside. so there are reasons to believe it may actually work. >> and nic robertson, you're in alexandria to the north of where we are in cairo. there was violence between pro mubarak forces and anti-mubarak protestors. what happened?

i know we have some of the video, what happened? >> reporter: well, it was the tail end, if you will, of the huge march in alexandria today. they settled in martyr's square, as they had been every night here. as they were sort of sitting there, chanting to get rid of president mubarak, they say a group of pro mubarak supporters came along, brandishing big sticks and knives. they say that they called on the army to come and defuse the situation. the army came in and told the pro mubarak supporters, they said to get behind the armored vehicles and told the protestors just stay where you are. the anti-mubarak protestors to stay where you are. then according to eyewitnesss, a clash started and 12 of the anti-mubarak demonstrators, who had been there in martyr's square through the evening, were beaten, one injured quite seriously according to a doctor who was on the scene there.

but it does appear to be an indication of those tensions that as ben was saying, perhaps a reemergence of those with a vested interest. and it took the army firing their guns in the air to kind of disburse or sort of force the two sides apart, anderson. >> ben, it's now wednesday morning here, day nine. what are you going to be looking for in the next 24 hours? >> some sort of form of resumption of ordinary life. i mean, by early next week -- >> because things are shut down here. >> r everything is shut down. government employees not getting paid, nobody is going to school, stores aren't working. so that's one thing. another is friday. friday is a day theoretically, the weekend, when nobody is working any way, but normally a day when large demonstrations happen. we can expect continuation of the anti-mubarak demonstrations, but i can see these guys on the street may be out as well, and there may be more clashes. >> what are the big questions in

the 24 hours ahead? >> do we start to get at all life back to normal. the prime minister appeared on tv today in an interview and said yes, he thought the internet would be back up soon. the finance minister said some kind of compensation would be given to people who have been made unemployed throughout this crisis. can steps be made to ease the economic burden from the part of the government? people saying they've run out of cash, running out of crucial supplies. will shops reopen again? >> will anyone be held responsible for the 300 deaths that have occurred in the last eight days here and what about all the people arrested? >> president mubarak in his speech did talk about investigations into some of the excesses that occurred over the past few days of the violence, and looting and we shall see, as he's saying this, we shall see if it comes to fruition.

>> nic, what were the demonstrations like today in alexandria? we saw the violence that occurred at the end, but what kind of a crowd turnout was there? >> it was by far the biggest turnout we've seen so far. one of the interesting things for me was the location chosen for all these different marches to congregate and they chose to congregate initially outside the main army headquarters, then changed their minds and had it a couple hundred yards away. there seemed to be an effort there, while the army had taken some of the heavy weapons off the armored vehicles, soldiers were telling us they had been been given orders not to shoot at protestors. protestors were linking their arms to make sure no mistakes happened. but there seemed to be something of an effort there, and a subtle or perhaps less than subtle

message that we're here, we're not far away. you're the sort of state institution that's -- i think there was something of that in it. but also interesting today to hear from people concerned about the transition, saying perhaps mubarak should have another week and perhaps the vice president would be okay, if only we get elections in two months or three months, that would be okay. you could really hear the chants of concern about the transition of power and how safe it might be. and just one more quick thought. we went into an apartment building to get some high shots of the scene there. i have to say there were a lot of very, very frightened elderly people in that building, elderly women and elderly men and you could get a sense of what they're going through, seeing armed thugs on the streets, providing security in their neighborhoods now.

this is not what they're used to. they're really concerned, anderson. >> ben, it does still seem like there is a big chasm between what the white house expects in terms of mubarak staying in power, the length of time, and what mubarak himself expects. the indication of the speech seemed to be that he was going to stay in until september. the white house is thinking of a much shorter time frame. >> certainly i listened to his speech and it doesn't sound like he's going to step down any sooner than he really has to, according to the constitution. and it was an interesting speech, because it started off very defiant, pointing fingers at the demonstrators. at the end of the speech, sort of saying i have served this country for very long as a soldier and as a president. and you got the feeling that there's a bit of wounded pride there. >> ben wedeman, appreciate it. when we come back, we'll look at americans trying to leave egypt. we're still seeing large numbers of americans leaving. we'll also talk to one american

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and welcome back. we're live from cairo, in case you've been following our coverage. i'm glad say that the large mob

of thugs seems to have moved down the block, so it's relatively calm here. i'm hoping they don't decide to come back. when we come back, we're going to have a lot about americans trying to evacuate from cairo and we'll talk to one young american here teaching english who decided he's going to stay. we'll talk to him about why. but first, let's check in with isha sesay for an update for a "360" news and business bulletin. isha? the 2012 democratic national convention will be in charlotte, north carolina. democrats chose charlotte over cleveland, minneapolis and st. louis. the convention is scheduled for the first week in september. the navy captain fired for making videos aboard a aircraft carrier said the higher-ups knew all about what he was doing. in a written statement to investigators, captain owen honors said his bosses never told him to stop making the movies, which included partial nudity and homophobic jokes. he said they were good for morale on board, and were never meant to be made public.

and concerns about egypt seem to be abating on wall street. the dow and s&p closed at their highest levels in two years. the dow closed at 12,040, the highest since june of 2008. let's get to the scene for the latest on the massive winter storm, impacting more than 30 states. hello, everybody, we are watching this major winter storm system that is bearing down across the mid western, the great lakes region of the united states and the south central united states. i want to tell you a couple things going on right now. along interstate 70 that cuts east to west across missouri, from st. louis into the kansas border, we're looking at the interstate that has been shut down because of blizzard conditions. they are saying extremely treacherous conditions along interstate 70.

along interstate 44 from right around springfield to the oklahoma border, very serious driving conditions being reported there. also in chicago, right now the wind is gusting to 53 miles per hour. the visibility is less than a quarter of a mile there. so needless to say, the snow and blowing snow is going to wreak havoc during the overnight hours and the early morning hours during the commute, if there in fact is a commute. we're looking at significant snowfall totals all across the great lakes region. you can see in this pink shaded area, that's where we have ice. it looks to be major ice across northern and central sections of indiana and also into ohio. as we go through the afternoon, here's what we can expect as we look into the next 12 to 24 hours. just want to give you some idea right now of what's happening in

chicago. here's a live picture. you may see it go in or out sometimes, but this is a view of michigan avenue in chicago. visibility is greatly reduced. because of the wind gusting to 53 miles an hour, the camera just can't take that intensity of wind. the snow is blowing. visibility is greatly reduced and you don't see much traffic occurring here. here are the temperatures that we're reporting now, and i will say that these aren't going to budge a whole lot. if anything, the windchill factor makes this especially dangerous. on top of that, the road conditions make it especially hazardous, as well. these are the actual outside air temperatures. chicago, 19. it feels like 9 below because of the 53-mile-an-hour wind gusts. in omaha, the temperature at 7 degrees. so plenty of arctic care is moving in across the upper mississippi river valley. we taper off just a little bit as we get into the ohio river

valley. temperatures in the 30s. the rain is coming. and we're going to see a coating of ice that could knock out power to thousands of people. already across portions of the midwest, we have reports of tens of thousands of people reported without power. this is a very dangerous weather system that does bear watching. we'll be bringing you updates throughout the entire overnight hours. you can stay here on cnn. "ac 360" continues right after this. [ male announcer ] breathe, socket. just breathe. we know it's intimidating. instant torque. top speed of 100 miles an hour. that's one serious machine. but you can do this. any socket can. the volt only needs about a buck fifty worth of charge a day. and for longer trips, it can use gas. so get psyched. this is a big step up from the leafblower. the 2011 chevrolet volt. it's more car than electric.

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well, welcome back. we are live in cairo. our continuing coverage, we are now starting day nine of these protests. even though president mubarak has made the announcement that he's planning to stay in power, it's likely the protests will continue today, tomorrow, the protestors say it will continue until president mubarak leaves office that day. we want to talk about some of the americans who have been evacuating from egypt, on all points around egypt. it's believed there are about 52,000 americans living in egypt, though it's not known how many are in country right now. the state department has been offering evacuations, offering flights to places in europe for people who want to get out. voluntary evacuations. about a thousand people on monday took them up on that. about 500 or so on tuesday were evacuated. jill dougherty has been covering the evacuations. why did the number drop on tuesday?

>> they said of these street demonstrations that you've been involved in, have been having an effect, at least in cairo. so the state department is saying the numbers did slow. the latest ones, they got 460 people out on four government charters, and that was today. and the destinations were istanbul and athens. they will continue that tomorrow, because there are probably about 3,000 people who do or have expressed an interest in getting out, anderson. >> and the airport in cairo is still open, and there are commercial flights, though a number of carriers have cut down on flights. or flights are delayed. i'm hearing the nightmare stories of people waiting 48 hours for a flight that ends up never showing up and there's not a lot of information being given out. how concerned is the state department about security for americans here in country? >> you know, so far the demonstrations haven't really targeted americans. so the state department isn't really saying that that is

specifically a problem. it's more just sometimes getting to the airport if you had to go through a demonstration. they're urging people on the website, and that is one place people should check for the latest information. they're urging them during demonstrations to stay indoors, to stay in their hotels. >> obviously people here can't really check any websites because there's still no internet service, but i guess the state department is recommending they contact their families in the states and have the families check websites, is that right, jill? >> exactly. they're saying use anything that you can, e-mail, websites, or if you have relatives outside of egypt, if they can contact you in some way and get that information. but the central clearinghouse for information is the website for the state department. state.gov. >> jill, appreciate the reporting. i'm joined now by reid dazel, an

american, a young american. you're here teaching english? >> yes. >> is this a good time to be in cairo or a bad time? >> i find it to be a really -- at times, terrifying, at times unsettling. but it's been an interesting time to be here. i found what's going on here to be incredibly inspiring. >> you don't feel the need to leave. a number of your friends have left. why did they leave? >> i think after the weekend friday, we were all out at the protests. got a little taste of tear gas. friday night, we were holed up in an apartment downtown and couldn't make it back up to where we live, north of downtown. there was a lot of violence. we were next to a police stronghold that got overrun throughout the night a couple times throughout the night. and then kind of throughout the weekend, looters were around. it was very unsettling. >> i hope your family is not watching this right now. i'm sure they're sitting at home thinking, what is he doing there? >> yeah, after friday night i

went back up to kind of a suburb about 12 kilometers north of downtown. and there i got to know -- i already knew the neighborhood a little bit, but i've been hanging out with the neighborhood kids, the guys out defending the neighborhood, got to know some of the soldiers stationed there. sort of. i don't speak arabic well enough to get to know them, but i feel safe. there's still a gunshot here or there, but i haven't seen anything -- i haven't ever felt personally threatened. >> so people on your block have taken matters into their own hands? they've armed themselves and every night they're out there patrolling the neighborhood. >> it was unsettling at first, seeing people out. because in crowds, makeshift barricades -- whatever they could find to block cars from getting there. >> they're carrying knives and sticks. >> everything from broken glass

to sticks and baseball bats to defend themselves. >> and they know who you are? >> exactly. and i've gotten used to it. they're not -- they're good neighborhood people. >> we talked to two young americans who were trying to evacuate last night who said they felt there were incidents where they felt anti-american sentiment. do you feel that? >> there have been a couple of times in the middle of the protest where there's been a chant or i said something about being an american and someone had a negative reaction. but most of that i feel like is not directed directly at me. it's egyptians wanting to know why america isn't supporting them. they feel like -- i think they feel like their revolution is in line with the ideas that they associate with america, like freedom and democracy. and they don't understand why the american government isn't behind them. it comes from america supported israel and mubarak as a person more than aggression toward me as an individual.

>> i wish you luck and stay safe and keep enjoying your time here in egypt. >> thank you. >> reid, thank you very much. one of the americans who decided to stay here. despite all that's going on. when we come back, some of the most dramatic developments from the last 24 hours. what a day and night it has been here. at northern trust, we understand... that while you may come from the same family... you know, son, you should take up something more strenuous. you have different needs and desires. - i'm reading a book. - what's a book? so we tailor plans for individuals, featuring a range of integrated solutions. you at your usual restaurant? son: maybe. see you tomorrow. stairs? elevator. to see how our multi-faceted approach... can benefit your multi-generational wealth, look ahead with us at northerntrust.com.

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it has been an extraordinary 24-hour period here. we've been up for most of the last 24 hours. i want to show you some of the most dramatic developments we saw today and tonight in cairo and alexandria. usually this square would not be this crowded at this time of the morning. it's usually after afternoon prayers that people come out to protest. >> keep order. the main idea now is the order.

we are the egyptian people. we're not involved with any party. >> so you check so no one brings any weapons? >> yes. >> there's no question that after days and nights of protests here, this is the biggest gathering we have seen yet. [ inaudible ] >> go, go, that seems to be the one single message here. >> today's protest seems to be more family oriented. you see more women. >> you want a democracy? >> this is what i want. >> for your kids. >> maybe he doesn't understand

the language of his people, so i'm telling him in english, please go away. >> as the president was speaking, there was an eerie see license with people hushing one another. and then he made that statement about the fact that he would be staying in office but would not seek re-election. people broke out into screams and shouts of outrage. they removed their shoes and began waving them in the air. that the ultimate insult in the arab world, shouting that he was a liar, that they did not trust him. >> it remains to be seen whether a statement by president mubarak tonight does satisfy some people in egypt. there are large numbers of people here who are not protesting, large numbers of people who we haven't heard from, some who may still support president mubarak.

so it remains to be seen whether this will weaken the momentum that the protests have been building over the last eight days. >> we'll be right back. [ male announcer ] sometimes after surgery straining should be avoided.

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